Palestinians want Bethlehem on UN heritage list

The Palestinians on Monday made a formal bid to have the no-longer-so-little town of Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus Christ, added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites."We are very proud to announce that we have submitted the nomination file of Bethlehem: birthplace of Jesus -- Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route ... to the World Heritage Centre," tourism minister Khulud Daibes told reporters.

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The Palestinians on Monday made a formal bid to have the no-longer-so-little town of Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus Christ, added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites."We are very proud to announce that we have submitted the nomination file of Bethlehem: birthplace of Jesus -- Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route ... to the World Heritage Centre," tourism minister Khulud Daibes told reporters.

The Palestinian Authority is to launch a campaign to get the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Jesus's traditional birthplace, added to UNESCO's list of world heritage sites, officials said on Sunday.The Palestinian tourism ministry will launch the drive on Monday to get the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation to recognise the "Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage route," to their list, a ministry statement said.

Palestinian journalists covering Stephen Harper’s trip to Israel alleged that a cameraman was “punched” by one of the prime minister’s security guards Monday, although no Canadian journalist witnessed the attack and the PMO said it had no knowledge of the incident.
The alleged altercation was reported to have taken place in Bethlehem, where the prime minister visited the Church of the Nativity, built on top of the grotto where it is said Jesus Christ was born.

BETHLEHEM IN THE GALILEE, Israel — Nobody pays much attention to Christmas in Bethlehem. There are no stalls selling candied apples, no gaudy lights or decorations. Instead of a nativity play, posters advertise a pantomime by “Kofiko the monkey and friends.”
This is Bethlehem in the Galilee in northern Israel. And unlike Bethlehem on the West Bank, about 160 kilometres south, where thousands flock to to sing carols in Manger Square each year, there is not a single Christmas tree in sight.

RAMALLAH — Canada is offering new economic aid worth $66 million to the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the aid during a visit to the West Bank city of Ramallah today where he met with Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas.
The government says the money will help advance the peace process, promote security and deliver humanitarian assistance.
Since the signing of the Oslo peace accords in 1993 and the creation of the Palestinian Authority, Canada has provided more than $650 million in development assistance for the West Bank and Gaza.

JERUSALEM — Reaching the close of his Mideast pilgrimage Monday, Pope Francis was one on one with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Jesus was here, in this land. He spoke Hebrew,” Netanyahu said in the meeting.
“He was speaking Aramaic,” the pope corrected, smiling.
“He spoke Aramaic, and he also knew Hebrew,” Netanyahu fired back, in what was apparently the most accurate statement in the exchange — according to a professor contacted by Reuters.

It’s still a long shot, but if Canadian-born Ted Cruz pulls off his bid for the U.S. presidency, Alberta will find itself in the unique position of hosting the only birthplace and first home of a U.S. president on foreign soil.
But while Americans have zealously preserved the boyhood home of every president since Calvin Coolidge, the first home of President Cruz would not be a heritage “priority,” said Cynthia Klaassen, president of the Calgary Heritage Initiative Society.

BETHLEHEM — Christian faithful from around the world on Thursday descended on the biblical city of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations at the traditional birthplace of Jesus, trying to lift spirits on a holiday dampened by months of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
The fighting cast a pall over the celebrations. Crowds were thin and hotel rooms were empty. While the annual festivities in Bethlehem’s Manger Square went on, other celebrations in the city were cancelled or toned down.

Officially, Pope Francis’s Middle East tour is pastoral, focused on support for Christians in the Holy Land and the Vatican’s historical reconciliation with the Eastern Orthodox Church.
On Sunday, however, he took a boldly political turn into the region’s fraught diplomacy by praying at the controversial Israeli security barrier, explicitly accepting Palestinian statehood and inviting leaders of both sides to an unusual private peace summit next month at the Vatican.

Tokyo (AFP) - Japan on Monday celebrated the inscription of Meiji-era industrial sites on UNESCO's World Heritage list, despite initial opposition from Seoul over the use of forced Korean labourers in the early 20th century.